


Tiny Tony

by Tobezilla



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, Kittens, Love Confessions, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-10
Updated: 2015-11-10
Packaged: 2018-04-30 22:20:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5181785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tobezilla/pseuds/Tobezilla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve relates to stray animals and dedicates his time to feeding them. But when he meets a kitten one morning, his life is changed forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tiny Tony

Abandoned animals were nothing new to the soldier.

Steve could remember walking down the street, watching the strays curl against each other to protect themselves from the elements.

Each time, he shed a single tear and stuck around to provide whatever comfort he could.

He made sure to purchase a variety of canned food for the animals and kept them in his closet, taking several whenever he went out for his morning jog.

Spending time with the animals reminded him to remain humble.

He had once been in their shoes, unable to find warmth and unsure when his next meal would be.

How could he forget those times?

But there was something different about the kitten he had come across one morning as he was returning to the tower.

A newborn kitten scrambled along the bustling streets, desperate to avoid being crushed beneath pointed shoes and heavy boots, and crashed into Steve.

To the soldier, he could barely feel the feather light kitten but the kitten seemed to become disoriented when colliding with the epitome of human perfection.

Within seconds, Steve was on the ground with the kitten curled in one hand.

There was a white spot on his chest and he had the warmest brown eyes, ones that reminded him of an eccentric billionaire.

Upon closer inspection, he noticed the tip of his tail was singed and his fur was sticking up in every possible direction.

Kind of like Tony when he came out of the workshop after a week.

The men and women raised an eyebrow at the large man hunched over whatever he held.

The kitten was beyond small, even for a newborn kitten.

Though Steve should not be surprised to find himself in the elevator with the kitten hidden in his sweater ten minutes later.

He should have brought him to where the other felines gathered, hopefully offering the kitten a family on the streets.

But when he gazed into those massive brown eyes and saw the genuine distress shining bright, he was sold.

Tony would definitely cause a scene.

There had been one rule that had seemed unimportant to the team and that was that no creatures with excessive amounts of fur or one hundred percent reliance on other creatures for survival allowed in the tower.

Of course, Natasha had mentioned that Tony should probably leave the tower if that was the case.

How would Steve explain the situation?

He had been wrapped in the thoughts racing throughout his mind that he missed the soft calls from the kitten.

He was burrowing further against his chest, concerned about the man that held him.

Steve smiled, “I’m okay. Just trying to figure out how to keep you around.” He said softly.

When the elevator reached the communal level, he could feel his heart fall into the pit of his stomach.

He exhaled shakily as he emerged from the elevator.

The team was gathered in the kitchen, which was not unusual.

The clock had struck eight o’clock, a decent time for the others to awaken and retrieve breakfast.

Steve nearly collapsed with relief when he noticed that Tony was nowhere to be found.

Natasha noticed immediately that the soldier was on edge.

“Are you okay?” She asked, cocking her head to the side.

He made an attempt to smile as he moved through the kitchen towards the hallway of bedrooms.

“Of course, never better!” He exclaimed.

But there was one thing Steve was the worst at and that was lying.

The assassin was standing before him with an unimpressed stare, raising an eyebrow as Steve shrunk under her piercing gaze.

Even Clint and Bruce were watching the interaction, having paused their meal to see what was bugging their team leader.

Before Steve could make another attempt at reassuring the fierce agent, the kitten made an appearance by peeking out from the top of the sweater.

Natasha released a high-pitched squeal, alarming the men and reached out to capture the bemused kitten from the fabric prison.

She cooed over the ebony ball, whispering and scratching the kitten in the right places.

Of course the kitten loved the attention.

“I fucking knew it would happen.” Clint said, continuing his consumption of his Lucky Charms cereal.

The team watched Steve with raised eyebrows as he shuffled around, uncomfortable with the fact that Natasha was showering the kitten with affection.

Something inside him screamed, “Mine!”

But he understood that the kitten would most likely need to be taken to a shelter or somewhere where he would be taken care of.

The thought brought tears to his eyes.

“Steve?” Natasha may have been losing her mind over the adorable kitten, but she was as sharp as ever.

He shook his head, “I’m alright. I want to keep him but Tony said…” he trailed off with a furrowed brow and ran a trembling hand over his face.

He was being irrational.

That was something he knew.

But the kitten reminded him of Tony, the man he had been in love with for a year.

How could he hand the kitten over to someone else and turn his back on the little guy?

That would be like abandoning Tony, something he would never do.

Bruce placed a bowl with milk on the ground for the kitten.

He watched as Natasha placed the kitten down, examining the feline closely.

It was obvious that there was something wrong.

Not only was his size unusual, but he seemed uninterested with food.

The kitten could not stand a moment longer.

He collapsed on the ground, panting heavily and making light sounds of distress.

Steve was beside him in seconds. “What happened?” He asked, panicked.

Bruce crouched down to run a hand over the kitten.

“I’m not a veterinarian, but judging by the symptoms…” He leaned closer to check the lethargic kitten, “I believe he is extremely sick. Must have been like this for a while. Most likely became ill within hours of his birth.”

Steve frowned, “What do I do?” He asked.

Bruce removed his glasses and cleaned the lenses, something he would do when he was thinking.

“I would have Jarvis run a check. I could be wrong because like I said, I’m not a veterinarian. Head down to the workshop. Talk to Tony while he does the check and go from there.” He said.

Steve brought the kitten to his face, placing a light kiss on his head before returning to petting behind his ears.

“Steve, I’m positive that Tony would consider keeping him if you spoke with him about it.” Bruce offered.

Natasha nodded in agreement, returning to the counter to finish her scrambled eggs and bacon.

Clint grinned around the spoon shoved in his mouth. 

"'Ony can't ay oh to Ap!" He garbled. 

Natasha smacked him upside the head, scolding him in Russian. 

Bruce only shook his head. 

They were right.

There was no point in Steve getting worked up over something that might not even happen.

So he steeled himself and headed down to the workshop, determined to fight for the kitten and convince Tony that he would barely know he was there.

That was the plan.

A plan that the team was certain would work.

Until their almighty leader came running through the kitchen with tears in his eyes and the kitten held close to his chest.

He appeared as though someone had brutally murdered his entire family before him.

Then the shattered whimper froze the team in place as he rushed past.

Before any of them could catch him, the elevator was moving down to the lobby.

“Holy shit, what did Stark _do_?” Clint whispered.

Tony was capable of a million things.

Hell, he was the most indecisive and spontaneous people the team had encountered.

But one thing they were positive he could never do was make Captain America cry.

It was obvious that the soldier was head over heels in love with the billionaire.

One would have to be blind to miss how he watched Tony whenever he was in the room or how he turned to a blushing mess when someone mentioned him.

It was just as obvious that the genius was in love with Steve, too.

So what had happened?

Natasha mumbled in Russian before moving towards the hallway.

She needed to figure out what had happened in the short span of time Steve had gone downstairs to the moment he raced out the tower in tears.

The workshop door was hanging off the hinges when she arrived.

It seemed that Steve had been desperate to escape and forgot his strength.

Tony was standing behind his bench in shock, his mouth moving to form words but there were no sounds leaving his lips.

“What did you do, Stark?” She asked, exasperated.

He gestured towards the broken door and glanced around the room.

He appeared to be genuinely confused about the entire situation.

“I told him to find a pet that wouldn’t die in a week…” He murmured, “The thing is sick. That makes sense, right? Find a pet that will last you. More fun that way. Jarvis had run a check, said the thing was insanely sick and nothing could be done. So I just suggested to hand it over to a pound. Then he started… Holy fuck, I made Captain America cry. How do you even do that? He just _broke_. I broke Captain America.”

Then his eyes widened. “I broke _Steve_.” He croaked.

The entire situation made sense.

Unfortunately, Natasha was not pleased with the turn of events.

The problem would be hard to fix.

It’s one thing when someone says something like, “You’re ugly.” or “You’ve gained too much weight.”

Sure, it stings but you eventually get over it.

It’s another thing when you are told you aren’t worth the time and effort it takes to love someone.

No one ever wants to be told they’re worthless.

She approached Tony and placed a hand on his shoulder.

She could feel the confusion and distress rolling off him in waves.

“Just because someone is sick, doesn’t mean they’re not worth anything. It doesn’t mean they don’t deserve love and affection.” She said softly.

She tried to force understanding into his mind without saying a word. 

Tony wasn't called a genius for nothing. 

Realization rang clear throughout his eyes.

He crumpled under her hand, leaning against the workbench with his head hung low.

“Fuck, I never meant… Of course Steve mattered before. Always has, always will. Shit, what did I do?” He mumbled, sinking down onto the cold ground.

Natasha patted his head before turning to leave.

“Do what you do best, Stark. Fix it.”

Then she was gone.

Tony remained on the floor for several minutes, running through various apologies in his mind.

He had been in love with Steve for months.

He never wanted to be the one to make him cry.

Never in his life did he think he could do such thing.

Yet he had shattered the man so thoughtlessly.

His eyes slinked over to where the freezer was.

Rows upon rows of alcohol lined the inner walls.

He could taste bittersweet regret on the tip of his tongue.

The last time he had a drink was before the Avengers moved into the tower.

He could remember sitting on his bed, swallowing the contents of a bottle, as he watched Pepper pack her suitcase.

He ruined their relationship like he ruined everything else.

What hurt the most was how sweet she was.

When she had placed her suitcase by the bedroom door, she placed a kiss on his forehead one last time.

He felt the raw emotion leak past his pores.

But when he reached up to grab onto her, to plead with her to stay, she was already gone.

Perhaps she had been gone longer than that.

She only stuck around to make sure Tony didn’t drink himself to death.

In the beginning, the drinking had stopped because he thought Pepper would come back if he proved he could be responsible.

But there were problems that extended further than his alcoholism.

Things even the great Tony Stark couldn’t fix.

Before he could give in to the temptation, he thought about what Steve had said when he found out the billionaire had stopped drinking.

His hand landed on his shoulder and he smiled at him like he had saved an entire train filled with orphaned children and pregnant women.

Then he kissed his cheek and said,

“I’m proud of you.”

As ridiculous as it may sound, no one had ever taken the time to tell Tony that they were proud of him.

Not Pepper.

Not even Rhodey.

At the time, he brushed the words off with a blinding grin and shoved the soldier to the living room where the others were deciding on a movie.

He supposed that was when he fell in love with Steve Rogers.

Because Steve thought he was better than a bottle of whisky and drunken women.

He left the workshop without sparing a second thought.

He needed to find Steve and stop running away from his feelings.

Tony Stark was in love with Steve Rogers.

The brunette ran around Manhattan for hours, searching for the soldier that had ran in tears.

His heart was pounding and he could feel his ribcage rattling with the force.

He almost laughed when he found the man seated beside a stream in Central Park, a secluded area where one could shed a couple of tears in peace.

It was sort of typical. 

Like movie typical.

Steve was hunched over the kitten, his nose red and eyes swollen from an obvious sobbing session.

But his face lit up when the kitten reached up to swipe his nose, a watery laugh pleasing both Tony and the kitten.

Tony approached, sitting on the ground beside Steve without saying a word.

Steve focused on the kitten.

He understood the pain of being unwanted and unloved by others.

No one wanted to attach himself or herself to him back then, fearful that he would pass away and they would be left with feelings.

There were people that mistreated him and told him he was nothing but a walking corpse.

That no one would ever love him because he would die before they got the chance.

Those times were followed by being held by his weary mother and told,

"I love you, honey. Nothing will ever change that." 

Later on, they were followed by Bucky smacking him upside the head and telling him, 

"Ignore 'em, Stevie. I'm with you till the end of the line, pal."

There was a chance the kitten would die soon, Jarvis had explained the situation to him, but that didn’t mean he should be tossed aside and forgotten.

Would Tony have done that to him had he met him back then?

"I tried taking him to a couple places. Nowhere would take him, said he was too sick." He mumbled.

The tears started falling once more.

“Oh, Steve…” Tony whispered.

He attempted to brush the tears away but they continued falling.

Steve broke down, sobbing and flinching from Tony.

“He deserves love. No matter how long God keeps him on Earth. He deserves love and happiness. He deserves to be kissed and hugged when he feels sad. He deserves to be fed breakfast, lunch and dinner whenever he’s hungry. He deserves to watch the sunrise and the sunset because you never know if this day will be your last.” Steve could feel anger pooling in his chest. “I’m sorry, Tony… But I’m not going to send him to a pound where they’ll put him down because he’s too sick. Ma taught me better than that. I know you may not think he's worth it but I do.”

Then bitterness leaked into his voice.

“Hell, maybe she should’ve sent me away and let me die. She would’ve lived longer.” He said.

His head snapped to the side when Tony slapped him.

He watched the trees beside him with wide eyes, shocked that he had been smacked.

Tony trembled with rage and frustration.

“Don’t you ever say that again, Steven Grant Rogers. Your mother fought every single day of her life to keep you healthy and happy. Not because she had to, but because she wanted to. You were her boy and honestly, you still are. Just because she isn’t around, that doesn’t mean you stopped being her son. I’m sure she’s still your mother. I’m sorry for saying what I did without thinking. But we both know I have no filter. I say what pops into my mind.” He turned Steve’s head and looked into his eyes, “I love you more than one man can handle. You made me believe that I was good enough, that I could have more than the bottom of a bottle. All I had to do what reach out and grab onto it. I never meant to insinuate that you were worthless in the past because you were sick. Honestly, Steve.. if I had the chance to meet you before the war, I would’ve fallen in love with you anyways. Want to know why?”

Steve nodded dumbly, shocked into silence.

Tony smiled, “Because I’m not in love with the muscles or the sharp jawline. I’m in love with who you are as a person.” He said softly.

The pair shared a passionate kiss beside the stream and under the autumn leaves, a sight beautiful enough to be the last the kitten saw.

When Steve glanced down to speak with the kitten, his head had rolled to the side and he was unnaturally still.

He’s not sure how long he cried or how long he screamed.

It could have been minutes, hours, days, weeks.

All he knew was that he felt his absence.

Tony yanked him into his arms, letting Steve get out his frustrations. 

He never laughed at him or teased him for getting emotional over an animal he had just met. 

He held him and told him it would be alright. 

That the kitten spent the last couple of hours loved and cherished. 

It was the best way to go.

The Avengers performed a burial ceremony for the kitten where the little guy had breathed his last breath.

It was beautiful.

There was a miniature flower arrangement and a marker placed underneath a gorgeous tree beside the stream.

There was even a name.

Since the kitten reminded him of Tony, he decided that Tiny Tony seemed like an appropriate name for him.

Clint laughed for hours while Tony rolled his eyes and buried himself in Steve’s side.

Even Bruce and Natasha shared a laugh.

But no one mocked him for feeling the way he did.

They understood how much Tiny Tony had meant, what he symbolized.

He was grateful that Tiny Tony came into his life.

Without him, Tony might have never confessed his feelings.

Time went on.

Steve was coming to terms with his death.

Whenever he wore the navy blue sweater, he could feel warmth on the center of his chest.

Eventually the memory became too painful and he tossed the sweater in a box.

He never wore the sweater again. 

But he kept it close, in memory of Tiny Tony. 

Tony began donating money to charities that helped stray animals find good homes.

He even held events for the cause.

There were so many people that believed in helping the animals.

It made him happy.

For those events, Tony never complained.

Not like he usually would.

He just held Steve close and fought for the cause the only way he knew how.

Steve could not explain how happy it made him.

There was even a shelter opened a couple of blocks away from the tower. 

It was called, “Home for Tiny Avengers”.

Steve could be found at the shelter whenever he had time to spare.

He would roll around with the animals, laughing and playing with them for hours at a time.

The strays he had been feeding on the streets were the first to join the shelter and he could feel their happiness whenever he stopped by.

They would tackle him, rubbing along him until he submitted and collapsed on the ground in a fit of giggles.

Every time, he thought about Tiny Tony.

There was a plaque on the door with an inscription. 

One that he would kiss whenever he left. 

_To Tiny Tony, one hell of a cat._

Then there was a post-it on the bottom that said, 

_To Tiny Tony, the supercat that knocked sense into Iron Man and Captain America._

_I'd fight beside him any day._

Somewhere down the line, Tony found a puppy that reminded him of Steve. 

It happened to be a Golden Retriever. 

He understood what Steve had been going through when he found Tiny Tony. 

He decided that the best home for the puppy was with the Avengers. 

So he adopted the puppy.

She was a beautiful dog with a golden coat and hypnotic blue eyes. 

Tony decided that Steve should name her. 

The next day, she wore a collar with a tag that read " _Tinker Bell Stark-Rogers_ ".  _  
_

No one was surprised. 

Steve had an odd fascination with that fairy. 

But even as he doted upon Tinker, Tiny Tony was never far from his mind.

He would always remember the warm brown eyes that met his own on that early morning.

The kitten that changed his life forever. 


End file.
